Managing sludge from non-mains systems

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Accepted Answer

Non-mains domestic sewage systems generate sludges and other wastes. These systems include:

septic tanks
small sewage treatment plants
separator toilets
cesspools
chemical toilets
portable sanitary toilets

These systems may be used by:

householders who cannot connect to the main sewer
holiday parks and camping sites
marinas and lock sites
construction sites
festivals and show grounds
allotments
public spaces, car parks, visitor attractions, golf courses and other recreational sites

If your business takes this kind of waste, you must meet your聽duty of care requirements聽if you:

collect it
store it
treat it
recover it
spread it to land (landspread it)
dispose of it

Managing separator toilet waste

A separator toilet is like a septic tank. If it has been operated correctly, it will have produced a residual septic tank sludge and a liquid.

If the separator toilet does not separate out the waste liquids and solids, you must manage it as a cesspool waste.

The term 鈥榗omposting toilet鈥� is now widely used for various types of separator toilets.

Check if the solid material produced meets the description of a residual septic tank sludge given in this guidance.

If you are not sure about how to classify the solid material, you can contact the Environment Agency for advice.

Storing sludge from non-mains systems

Check if you can follow the Environment Agency鈥檚 regulatory position statement (RPS)听Storing and treating chemical toilet waste:聽RPS听277. This聽RPS聽allows you to store:

non-hazardous chemical toilet waste at a location controlled by the operator of a portable toilet hire business
cesspool and septic tank waste at a location controlled by a tanker operator
sewage from boats at a marina or lock site

You must聽apply for a permit聽if you cannot meet the conditions of RPS 277.

If you are planning to store septic tank sludge at the place where it will be used under the Sludge (Use in Agriculture) Regulations, you must either:

register an S3 waste exemption for storing sludge
apply for a permit

See the section of this guide on 鈥楽toring septic tank sludge for use in agriculture鈥�.

Treating sludge from non-mains systems

You can treat or dispose of waste at an appropriately regulated facility. These include a:

waste water treatment works
waste management facility

The sludge you are treating, which is likely to be 20 03 04 鈥榮eptic tank sludge鈥�, may change its waste code and description after the waste treatment activity. Check the聽waste classification technical guidance聽for the correct code to use.

Check if you can use the聽T21 waste exemption: recover waste at a waste water treatment works. You must register this exemption. You must聽apply for a permit聽if you cannot meet the conditions of the exemption.

You must only use the waste code and description 16 10 02 鈥榗esspool waste and other sewage sludge鈥� if the sludges have been mixed with cesspool waste.

If you have registered the T21 exemption, check if you can follow聽Using waste codes for sludge materials:聽RPS听231. This includes other waste types you can accept. You must be able to meet all of the conditions of the聽RPS.

Treating waste from portable separator toilets

Check if you can use the low risk waste position (LRWP)听Treating solid waste from composting toilets:聽LRWP听90聽for portable separator toilets. This allows you to treat the solid waste from portable toilets at the depot where the toilets were hired out from. You must be able to meet all the conditions.

Classifying sludge from non-mains systems

You must assess and classify waste using the聽waste classification technical guidance.

When classifying the waste, check if you can use:

Spreading residual septic tank sludges to land used in agriculture

This section focusses on the use of septic tank sludge to agricultural land under the Sludge (Use in Agriculture) Regulations. Under the regulations 鈥榮eptic tank sludge鈥� means residual sludge from septic tanks and other similar installations for the treatment of sewage.

You can spread residual sludge from septic tanks or similar non-mains domestic systems directly to land used in agriculture under these regulations, if it is suitable for use.

You must apply for a permit聽to spread septic tank sludges to land which is not used for agriculture, within the meaning of these regulations.

Wastes that are not suitable for agricultural land

You must not spread septic tank sludge to agricultural land if:

it is not just sludge - modern septic tanks and package sewage treatment plants are usually completely emptied, so you may not just have the sludge from it
it has been mixed with other waste in a collection tanker

You must manage these wastes as cesspool wastes.

You must not spread wastes direct to agricultural land from:

cesspools
chemical toilets
toilets that do not separate wastes (non-separator toilets)

You may be able to treat these wastes so that they are suitable for use. See the section on 鈥楾reating sludge from non-mains systems鈥�.

Storing septic tank sludge for use in agriculture

The storage of septic tank sludge at the place where it will be used聽for use under the Sludge (Use in Agriculture) Regulations is controlled by the Environmental Permitting Regulations.

Check if you can use the聽S3 waste exemption: storage of sludge. This allows you to store up to 1,250 tonnes of sludge at the same place where it will be spread to land.

You must聽apply for a permit聽if you cannot meet the conditions of the exemption.

You are responsible for registering the S3 waste exemption or having a permit, not the farmer or land manager.

If you have registered the S3 exemption, check if you can use Using waste codes for sludge materials:聽RPS听231. This includes more waste types you can accept. You must be able to meet all the conditions of the聽RPS.

Spreading septic tank sludge to land used in agriculture

You can spread sludges from septic tanks and similar systems to land used in agriculture if you:

have assessed that the sludge is suitable for use
meet the relevant requirements of the Sludge (Use in Agriculture) Regulations

Land used for agriculture means land for growing commercial food crops and stock rearing.

Meeting the requirements of the Sludge (Use in Agriculture) Regulations

To comply with the requirements for spreading septic tank sludge under the Sludge (Use in Agriculture) Regulations, you must make sure that, after application to land:

animals must not graze for 21 days
forage crops must not be harvested for 21 days
fruit and vegetable crops (which are grown in direct contact with the soil and normally eaten raw) must not be harvested for 10 months

The occupier of the land must make sure that any untreated sludge that was not injected into the soil is worked into the soil as soon as reasonably practical.

The Environment Agency recommends that you treat the septic tank sludge before using it. You can use:

biological, chemical or heat treatment
long-term storage
any other appropriate process to significantly reduce its fermentability and the health hazards of using it

If you are treating the septic tank sludges, you can use one or more of the methods given in section 3.2, 鈥楨xamples of effective sludge treatment processes鈥�, in the Sewage sludge in agriculture: code of practice.

The Environment Agency recommends that you follow the Sewage sludge in agriculture: code of practice. The code is voluntary, but it will help you follow the rules when you produce or use sewage sludge in agriculture.

Get advice

You can聽get advice about the environmental permit you may need聽for your activity.

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